Sherlock Gnomes

After awhile I was pretty burned out on the friendship stuff, the theme was revisited so much I started to wonder if it was being used as filler.

The scene in the toy store with the cats and stuff was good and funny, that 'set piece' was the one redeeming feature for the movie, there wasn't enough of that kind of thing. I wonder if anyone did a cut of that scene and put it on utube, if so go to Utube and watch the one thing from the movie that was enjoyable and do something else with that time saved.

I could be wrong, but I think whoever came up with the toy cat stuff was hired as an outside consultant in relation to the writers and producers of this soap operatic gnome movie

(Sigh) . . . Lacking, would be my one word review of "Sherlock Gnomes". Though the animation itself is nice, the basic story and lacklustre script will probably leave most of the children in the audience bored, let alone the adults.

The vocal performances are a mixed bag. With Gnomeo and Juliet effectively sidelined for a lot of the film, their performers (James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) probably give the flattest turns, but this does allow for Johnny Depp and, particularly, Jamie Demetriou to shine as Holmes and Moriaty respectively. There is a song crowbarred in around the middle of the picture from Mary j Blige's Irene Adler, which is as inexplicable as it is awful. In fact, music in general it a bit of a problem for the film - with a few bars of various Elton John hits piped into certain scenes, but it's like hearing a panpipe version in a lift, recognisable but not entertaining.

There is, as I say, some nice animation but there aren't nearly enough gags that land, and certainly not enough that would appeal to any of the older kids / adults in the audience.

Sherlock Gnomes and Watson are the protectors of London's gnomes against the evil Moriarty. After defeating Moriarty, Sherlock is listless until he gets a new case of missing gnomes. Gnomeo and Juliet discover their family and friends have disappeared. They join Sherlock and Watson on their investigation.

This franchise doesn't have the highest of ambitions. It does have some fun characters. This sequel adds an interesting Sherlock and Watson duo. I like them and I like their opening battle with Moriarty. The start is muddled by the fact that the franchise protagonists are Gnomeo and Juliet. There is a split in attention. Once the foursome is formed, they are actually fun together. The best part is Juliet being smarter and more capable than the arrogant Sherlock. Once the group splits up again, the fun chemistry gets muddled again. Mostly, I like these characters and the overly complicated scheme does fit the plot. It's a fun short time and this movie is short.

Enjoyed this but: Some of the storyline has been taken from Flushed Away, and in parts the story just doesn't work.However, if you love everything gnomes, then sit back, grab a drink and escape into a world of gnomes, gargoyles and Chinese cats!

You know, call me crazy, but I didn't think this film was half bad.

Of course it's predictable. Of course it's cheesy, But underneath that all is a great story, great characters to latch onto, and some surprisingly funny. Luckily Mankene wasn't in the movie too much.

I'm gonna have to give it a B or on an Imdb scale, a 7/10. Fun family entertainment.